Food
Seafood and smoke: Japanese fine dining finds a home in Busan
"Bite Into Busan" is a monthly celebration of the city's restaurants. Each featured spot is listed in the Michelin Guide and Taste of Busan, the city's official gourmet guidebook, and is known for its signature dishes.
Japanese kaiseki cuisine at Mori. (Instagram : Click)
■Kaiseki at Mori
Kaiseki is Japan's haute cuisine, a multicourse celebration of seasonal ingredients. Mori, one of Busan's standout kaiseki spots, is a Michelin-starred restaurant that celebrates local seafood and produce. With experience gained from training in Japan, Chef Wan-gyu Kim's menu is a masterclass in balance and taste.
＊Address: 2F #2-4, Pale De Cz, 24 298beon-gil, Haeundaehaebyeon-ro, Haeundae-gu
＊Hours: 7 to 11 p.m., closed on Mondays.
＊Price: Kaiseki course ￦210,000 per person
A dish from the omakase menu at Zero Base. (Catch Table : Click)
■Omakase at Zero Base
Omakase, meaning "I'll leave it up to you," invites diners to entrust their meals to the chef, who creates a personalized experience based on available ingredients.
At Zero Base, diners are in the expert hands of Chef Byeong-chan Yu. Chef Yu's refined techniques and creativity turn local seafood into dishes with a certain "je ne sais quoi" that will have you thinking of them long after your last bite.
＊Address: 202, 17 Millak-ro 33beon-gil, Suyeong-gu
＊Hours: 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., closed on Sundays.
＊Price: Omakase ￦150,000 per person
Spanish mackerel with pesto from Eutteum Iroribata. (Instagram : Click)
■Iroribata at Eutteum Iroribata
Iroribata is the art of open-fire grilling over a sunken hearth, which imbues fish, meat and vegetables with mouth-watering, smoky flavor. Chef Eutteum Jung shows off his mastery of this cooking style at his cozy restaurant in Namcheon-dong.
The restaurant bears the imprint of Chef Jung's passion; dark stains on the walls reflect the years spent managing smoke and fire to perfect every dish. His signature dish is a grilled seaperch, a type of fatty white fish prized for its rich, buttery flavor. The row of whole fish roasting in front of the hearth makes an indelible image.
＊Address: 1F, 20 Suyeong-ro 408beong-gil, Suyeong-gu
＊Hours: Open Monday to Thursday, 7 to 10 p.m.; Open at 5:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Closed on Sundays and the 2nd and 4th Mondays of every month.
＊Price: Omakase ￦100,000 per person
Various skewers at Yakitori Haegong. (Instagram : Click)
■Yakitori at Yakitori Haegong
There are distinct pleasures one experiences when eating yakitori. The first is visual; watching the chef, fan in hand, labor over glowing embers of charcoal, moving and rotating skewers like a conductor leading an orchestra. The second is gustatory; perfectly cooked meat and vegetables, seasoned with smoke, salt and tare, a sweetned soy sauce.
At Yakitori Haegong, the conductor is Chef Seunghyun Kim. Under his deft hands, all parts of a chicken sing; tender thigh meat, crispy wings, chewy hearts and the crunch of neck cartilage form a symphony of textures and flavors that merits an encore.
＊Address: 1F, 30-5 Millakbondong-ro 19beon-gil, Suyeong-gu
＊Hours: 5:30 p.m. to midnight. Closed on Sundays.
＊Price: Omakase ￦59,000 per person
※ Note that restaurant information may be subject to change.